Forgotten Melody
by Syynex
Summary: A painful reminder of the past, he was best left forgotten, but not everything would abandon him. It found him, accepted him, and granted unto him abilities unheard of. He may have been forgotten, but his melody would continue to play, filling the streets of the greatest city ever known; The Arc.
1. Chapter 1

**Today I decided to post all the stories gathering dust in my folders. I figure that if NeonZangetsu-Sempai can do it so can I. Don't expect updates on these, I'm just posting them so you can all see why I take forever to update. Enjoy ^_^**

* * *

Soft music filled the air, an eternal melody that was always present in the Kurosaki household. It drowned the home in its sweet sound and calmed all those within;

To an extent.

In the dinning room three people scurried around, preparing for yet another school day. Karin and Yuzu, both fifteen, ran about, collecting their things and eating a hurried breakfast, while there father chased them around in an effort to obtain hugs from his developing daughters.

They paid no attention to the music, it was a constant, a never-changing sound that had been with them for as long as they could remember, and so they forgot, just as they forgot the youngest of their home, one eleven year-old Kurosaki Ichigo, a painful reminder of Misaki's death.

But still, the music played, determined not to be forgotten, not to be alone.

Just like its musician.

The room was light, just like the music played within, however the mood was anything but. Sitting at his piano, Ichigo continued to move his fingers across the keys in a dance he had perfected over the years.

The large white piano had been with him since a young age but, unlike the rest of his family, he did not forget it. Choosing instead to use and cherish it as the precious item it was. The sounds it produced were his first companions, playing with him through his lonely existence.

He had learned quite quickly that his 'family' wanted nothing to do with him, too pained by his mother's death, a death they blamed him for. The cause of death was unknown, she'd been out on a stroll, even after being told not to, and was later found laying in a pool of her own blood.

For a reason unknown to all, he had survived, screaming within the cooling womb of his deceased mother, a cry for help that wasn't heard until they opened her body. For him to live while she died wasn't fair, in their opinion, and they thought he shouldn't have survived, that he was unworthy to have survived;

Unworthy to exist.

But he did, he existed, alone and unloved. And that's when it came. He had awoken after another night of crying himself to sleep and found the piano in his room, as if it had always been their, as if it belonged. Ichigo felt no need to question it.

He had quickly found a love of playing the beautiful instrument, spending all his time on it. He played when happy, when sad, when lonely, and when he wanted nothing more than for his existence to cease. The music soothed him, it allowed to express himself like nothing else could, and for that he loved it.

It was on his tenth birthday, while dreaming for a place to be accepted, that his life changed. he was playing the piano at the time when the portal had opened, a bright white doorway floating of the ground like a misshapen-coffin. Several smaller panels of light hovered next to it, a large blockish zero displayed on the biggest one.

Oh, the irony! When he stepped inside he found a place he could finally be accepted, a city entirely devoid of life!

Exploration revealed a large palace-like structure atop the slope the city was built on, in which was a vast library. All his time, when the others weren't home, was spent in that library, learning all he could about the previous owners, the 'Noah', of this 'Ark'. The Noah clan had been powerful, he discovered, a large family with remarkable powers that were individual to each Noah. An even more amazing thing was that they were, in theory, immortal.

When a Noah died they would resurface within the body of another years afterwards, consuming the soul of the previous owner and giving them a body once more. He had wondered briefly if he might have a Noah within him, allowing him to access this strange place, but soon learned that the Noah's were no more, their very souls destroyed.

Which could only mean one thing, he was the new owner, the sole inheritor of this flying city, chosen by the Ark itself.

He was proud of this fact, and immensely grateful, and had devoted himself to learning all he could about the Noah and finding a way to bring the Ark back to the greatness it was known for. Such a marvelous city shouldn't be left empty, it was unbefitting of its majesty. So he would fill it, collecting those who he deemed worthy to live within it.

When he was finished it would be a bustling city, filled with life and happiness, a utopia cutoff from the outside world. It would be a paradise, his paradise, and his father would help.

No, not the childish Kurosaki Isshin, his real father, the man who cared for him, visiting him even though he was not permitted to. Ichigo was a bright boy, quickly leaning that his father wasn't human and shouldn't be there.

His father had laughed, scarred as he was by his son's intelligence, he was proud of the boy. He had only been his father for about a year, appearing soon after he obtained access to the Ark, and had spent as much time as possible with the youngest Kurosaki.

In all but blood the man was his father, something Ichigo wouldn't have traded for anything. It had been his father that brought him new clothes, that had taught him how to properly behave, and that precious time spent with his father was worth his own soul a hundred-fold.

Even now, within the privacy of his near-empty room he wore the gifts from his father; a white dress-shirt, black slacks, black shoes, a black vest trimmed with silver, a crimson cravat, and a pair of white gloves.

He had been taught, in the year he'd spent with his father, how to be a more respectable person, a high-class gentleman, if you will.

Movement on his shoulder caught his attention but he didn't even pause in his song. Looking over to another gift, this one given to him by the Ark, he couldn't help but let a very small, extremely rare, smile grace his face. There, perched atop his shoulder, was a small silver orb with four stubby legs, feathered wings, a pair of tiny horns, and a long tail. The books within the Ark's library identified it as a golem, a type of creature first created by Nea Walker, the fourteenth Noah.

He had taken to calling it 'Getsu' due to the crimson crescent that covered the front of the small, extremely hungry familiar.

Now playing one-handed, he reached into his pocket and retrieved a candy for his first living friend, the loyal golem that had shown him the same devotion he showed the piano. Feeling a tugging at the back of his mind, he willed into existence a gate with the number one, reserved for the one person who came second only to himself within the Ark, his father.

Out from the gate stepped the shinigami, as Ichigo had learned his father was, dressed in the standard black robes of Seireitei's forces, over his shoulders hung a white haori with the number 5 on the back, proclaiming his captain status of division five.

"Aizen Tou-san" Addressed the eleven year-old, faintly smiling over his shoulder while he played.

"Ichigo-kun." replied the captain as he walked behind his son, placing a hand on the boy's free shoulder.

"Are you ready to go?" Aizen hated interrupting his son's songs, but seeing as he was always playing them and they never ended, the brilliant shinigami had no choice.

"Is it time already?" Ichigo didn't seem bothered in the slightest, calmly making the music he loved.

"I'm afraid so." light, melodious laughter filled the air, something only Aizen and Getsu had heard come from the boy's lips.

"Why? I've hardly been able to wait to meet your followers you've told me so much about." stated Ichigo. "I only regret not being able to finish my song before we left, I suppose it'll have to wait for me to settle in to my new home, won't it, Tou-san?"

Aizen smiled, one filled with the same warmth he'd fake around fellow shinigami. The only difference was that this was a true smile, a genuine show of his feelings reserved solely for his son.

"Yes, I believe it will." Answered Aizen. "Tell you what, to make up for interrupting you, I'll have Gin teach you how to play cards."

Ichigo quirked an eyebrow. "Play cards? You've already taught me." Many of his cherished moments with his father involved playing card games and laughing at various jokes, moments that had made his life worth living.

"Yes, but I'll have Gin teach you how to cheat. You'd be amazed how much the various hollow will bet in an effort to make Las Noches less boring. Though I suppose your music will help spectacularly."

"Oh, so I'm merely there to entertain your subordinates? And here I thought you actually cared." joked Ichigo as he stood up, Getsu taking to the air and hovering by his side.

"Speaking of subordinates," began Aizen, a light smile on his face. It was nice to know that his son could still joke, even if he'd done it before. One of his biggest fears was to visit his son and find him unable to laugh or smile, broken by his family's neglect. "I have yet to figure out what to do with my lieutenant, any suggestions?"

Normally Aizen would simply stab her and move on, but two things made this different. First was his son, who valued loyalty and devotion, utterly loathing betrayal and abandonment. Second was the fact that his lieutenant was female, and his son deserved to have whatever he wanted, in Aizen's eyes, at least. If his son wanted his lieutenant for any reason he'd be more than happy to supply. After all, he had no use for her anymore.

"Hmm, I do believe such devotion should be rewarded." mused Ichigo, grabbing his top hat from its resting place atop the piano. "I think she'd make a fine addition to the Ark. There's also another thing she could help me with."

Amused by his son, Aizen smirked, watching as a single snap from his son created countless gates below his belongings, transporting them to the Ark. "And what might that be?"

His son gave a smirk, his lowered head caused his hat and hair to cover his eyes but his devious grin was easily seen.

"Why, to warm my bed, of course, it's been awfully cold lately."

Unable to help it, Aizen began laughing. Leave it to his son to become the perfect gentleman and yet still plot ways to get women in bed with him, he shouldn't have expected any less from him.

Still chuckling, Aizen followed his son into the gate, leaving behind them an empty room with naught but a single rose in a vase, something that had been on the piano previously.

As he vanished into the white light the gate shattered like glass into a million tinny pieces, further disintegrating into a fine dust that was blown out the window.

And still the rose stood tall and proud, the only indication that someone had ever been in that room.

* * *

There was something unsettling about the atmosphere of the Kurosaki's house, and it took a moment for them to realize what was wrong.

"The music," noted Yuzu. "It's stopped." It was odd for the house to be so silent, so eerily absent of life.

"KARIN, YUZU, MY BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTERS, GIVE YOUR FATHER A HU- what happened to the music?" it seemed as though even Isshin was able to notice the change in his home.

"How should we know, goat-chin? We just got back." said Karin. "Maybe the brat's taking a nap."

"Well," suggested Yuzu. "let's go check on him, I can't remember the last time I saw him." Her little brother was always in his room, obviously having noticed the hostilities he faced from the rest of the family, and it truthfully made her sad. What kind of sister was she when she couldn't help her brother feel loved, couldn't spend five minutes a week making sure he was okay? For all she knew he didn't even eat, having not seen him at the table for more than a few years.

The others agreeing, the three made their way up to Ichigo's room. Isshin was the one to open the door, surprised by the lack of, well, anything. The room was almost completely barren, as if it had never been used.

In the corner was a small bed, the light blue comforter stretched across the bed in military-grade perfection. Dancing next to the open window were thin white drapes, splaying faint shadows across the clean wooden floor.

Sitting in the middle of the room, bathed in light, was a rose in a clear glass vase, two petals having fallen off in despair caused by their master's depart.

As what was left of the Kurosaki family tried to comprehend that the youngest was gone, no doubt having left in search of a place he would be accepted, the rose continued to slowly wilt.

Even as guilt and regret began to fester within their hearts, another petal joined its brothers.


	2. Chapter 2

**Today I decided to post all the stories gathering dust in my folders. I figure that if NeonZangetsu-Sempai can do it so can I. Don't expect updates on these, I'm just posting them so you can all see why I take forever to update. Enjoy ^_^**

* * *

The stone halls were silent, noticed Ichigo. He'd have to fix that. This was not some fortress, some hidden base for a traitor to disappear to. No, this was a palace, the location from which his father would rule over all hollows with the power of Kyoka Suigetsu and the Hogyoku.

Waiting for he father to emerge from the gate, Ichigo quickly fell into step behind the shinigami. His father might have told him about this place, but the young boy had absolutely no idea where he was going.

And, while not defenseless, he would rather not face his fathers subordinates. They were strong, without a doubt, and he didn't know if he could defeat any of them. Of course, the opposite could also be true, and he'd rather not kill of his father's soldiers.

Knowing that his son would have trouble navigating the palace for a while, Aizen came up with a quick solution.

"It's going to take some time to get used to all the hallways, " he stated. "Would you like a guide?"

Ichigo didn't even need to consider the offer, answering immediately. "Yes. Thank you, Tou-san, do you have any in mind?"

"I was thinking about one of my fraccion, Loly or Menoly. I don't use them, so you might as well give one of them a purpose." Yeah, it was probably a bad idea to give one of his fraccion to his son, but he figured the offer couldn't hurt. If the boy didn't want them he could pick someone else. Of course, the sly grin that slid onto his don's face made the answer quite obvious.

"Oh? It would be an honor to give your subordinate a new reason to live, perhaps at a later date I could relieve you of the other?"

Chuckling, Aizen nodded a few times. "I should've known." Ichigo's grin got wider. "If you'd like the other one on a later date, you may have her. Which one would you like first?"

"Menoly." at his father's raised eyebrow he elaborated. "Loly is too devoted to you and would never accept it. Menoly, on the other hand, would obey your orders and begin serving me. She can then aid me while I…tame, yes, that word will do nicely…Loly. Besides, I'm sure Loly would love to have you all to herself for a few months."

Ichigo laughed lightly while his father went pale. Menoly had been his main buffer against Loly's advances, now that she was going to be his son's Loly would attempt to bed him with a vengeance. Silently cursing his son in his head, he began clapping.

"Well played, very well played." he admitted. "Even if I didn't promise you both right now you would have obtained them. Without Menoly there to dissuade Loly's attempts I'd be forced to give you my other fraccion to avoid being raped." Praised the shinigami.

"Thank you father, I learned from the best." it was then that Ichigo noticed that they were no longer moving, stopped before a stone double-door. If it weren't for the faint black lines around them he wouldn't have seen them at all.

"WAKE UP, STARRK!" quirking an eyebrow, Ichigo followed his father into the room only to be met with a very amusing sight.

Directly before him was a small, green-haired girl facing a man lying on a pile of pillows, happily napping. She scrapped her foot across the floor a few times like a bull before letting loose a scream and charging the poor guy.

Couldn't she see he just wanted a nap?

'_Crack' _

A loud yelp filled the air, the girl was holding her head as she rolled on the floor in pain. Ichigo made a mental note not to head-butt the man.

She scrambled over to the door on all fours, not noticing them in the slightest. Realizing that she planned to do it again, Ichigo did what he assumed was the right thing, stopping her before she got hurt again.

Apparently he was wrong.

The second his hand grasped her shoulder she rounded on him, driving her helmeted head into his gentleman's sausage. It took a great effort on his part not to cry out in pain.

It took an even greater effort for Aizen not to burst out laughing at his son's misfortune.

"Lilynette, please refrain from damaging my son too much, I'd rather have him in one piece." chided Aizen.

"Huh? Aizen-sama? When did you get here?" she asked curiously as she stared up to her leader.

"They were there before you ran into me." answered a groggy voice, the head of Starrk raising just enough to look at his visitors. "You were too busy trying to hurt me to notice them."

Starrk knew Aizen, it would've been weird had he not, but he didn't know this new person, the one his leader called his son. He didn't sense much reiatsu from the boy, nor did he look odd. It seemed to be a simple human child dressed nicely, though he did notice how fast the boy had recovered from such a painful experience.

Either this boy had extremely high pain tolerance or ..there! The boy grimaced slightly before returning to his plain, semi-smiling face, something that made the boy seem pleasant and comfortable. He had remarkable self control to not scream out from the pain he no doubt felt.

The child's eyes were closed as he smiled, obviously fake, and when he opened his eyes Starrk understood why.

It was clear within those brown orbs that the boy had been abandoned, that he had felt the loneliness he and Lilynette did. The thing that was most clear, however, was the fear. The fear of rejection, of continued isolation;

Of being alone.

Starrk understood that fear, how could he not? He had suffered the same for countless years before making Lilynette from his soul. It was clear that Aizen had saved him from his solitude, had been his first precious person, and it was obvious that Aizen cared for him as well.

Looking to his leader for confirmation about what he saw he received a discrete nod, telling him that this child had indeed been abandoned, forgotten, forsaken.

That was unacceptable, he wouldn't let such a thing continue, not when he knew the same pain. He would welcome this human into their group, give him somewhere to belong, and, in the process, gain another precious person of his own.

Getting up, Starrk approached the rest of the room's -His room's- occupants.

"Well, I must get going." said Aizen as he turned to leave. "I'll send Menoly over to escort you to your room later."

"Alright. Thanks, Tou-san." Replied Ichigo, slightly surprised when he felt an arm over his shoulder. He looked up to see Starrk, a sense of understanding from the Espada's eyes. He allowed a smile to grace his face, not the fake one he used when meeting new people, the one he used to be polite, but a genuine smile that showed that he was truly happy at that moment.

Kurosaki Ichigo had found people who cared.

* * *

Nothing was spoken, no one knowing what to say. They sat together, the last of the Kurosaki household, each with a cup of untouched tea rapidly cooling before them.

"I can't believe he's gone." sighed Yuzu. How could she have let this happen? Sure she wrongly blamed him for her mother's death, which she admitted was irrational, but she never hated him, as much as it must've seemed to him.

To live without love, without acknowledgement, existing from one day to the next without purpose. She shivered. Just the thought made her want to curl up and cry. Yet even then she'd never seen him cry, never see him display emotion, almost never saw him.

He sat alone in his room, playing the music that they had all taken for granted, something that became so common that its disappearance had taken a part of their very being with it. This house could never be a home so long as that music wasn't playing, shouldn't have been a home without her brother.

She didn't even know him and yet she found herself missing him, longing to hug him and say that his big sister was there for him. But there was no chance of that happening, she had missed it, had given away her opportunity to be a big sister.

Time was fleeting, and now she could only regret.

Three rose petals lay on the wooden floor, having fallen of the proud flower above them. Without warning, the color drained from a single petal, leaving it a pure white.

* * *

Aizen paused, his attention drawn to the change of his Zanpakuto's illusion. It would seem as though there was one member of his original family who still had some sort of feeling for his son.

"Aizen-sama?" asked Menoly, confused by her leader's mid-sentence pause. "Did something happen?" she inquired.

"Nothing that concerns you, my dear." he answered. "Now, as I was saying. I have decided that you would be better suited as something other than my fraccion…"

Menoly's heart sunk. Better suited? She wasn't worthy to serve him? She didn't think she could possibly be more ashamed of herself. With a heavy heart she braced herself for what was to come.

"So I have decided to make you the fraccion of my son."

What? His son! She nearly cried in relief. She wasn't unworthy of being his subordinate, but worthy enough for him to trust with his son!

"Of course Aizen-sama, I would be happy to serve him." she replied.

"Perfect, he's currently in the presence of Starrk and Lilynette, go introduce yourself and escort him to his new room, directly across from mine." he ordered.

"Hai, Aizen-sama." was the response as she began dismissing herself. She was nearly out the door when his voce made her stop.

"Menoly?"

"Yes?"

"I trust that you will take care of ALL his needs?" a faint blush appeared on her cheeks.

"Yes, Aizen-sama. Whatever he asks of me."

"Good, carry on." With a wave of his hand he dismissed her, he had a Hogyoku to obtain.

* * *

A knock brought the attention of the room's three occupants to the newcomer, an Arrancar with emerald eyes and blonde hair.

"Excuse me, Starrk-sama, I have been sent by Aizen-sama to escort his son to his new room." she spoke, causing Ichigo to rise from his pillow and make his way over in quick, long strides.

"Ah, Menoly, I presume?" he asked, kissing the back of her hand. "It's nice to meet one of the Arrancar my father spoke so highly about."

"T-the pleasure is all mine." stuttered the blushing Arrancar. This was his son? Menoly had absolutely no problems serving him, it was probably the best job she could've been given!

"My apologies, I was so enamored by your beauty that I forgot to introduce my self. I'm Kurosaki Ichigo, I hope we get to spend more time together in the future." he gave her a brilliant smile, causing the poor girl to blush even more. How lucky could she get?

Offering her his arm he asked. "Shall we be off?" she took the arm and nodded, guiding him to his new room and leaving behind two stunned Espada.

"Well I'll be damned." muttered Starrk, not paying attention to a fuming Lilynette.

She saw him first, she was one of his first friends (even if it had been only an hour or so), how dare she try to take him from her? He would be hers, there was no possible way she was going to let him escape. As she began to cackle madly Starrk decided it was time for another nap.

Lilynette didn't agree.

"WAKE UP, STARRK!"


End file.
